Black Rose for an Uchiha
by charliedee
Summary: What happens when Itachi leaves another Uchiha member alive - one that could possibly benefit Sasuke to help restore their clan? How could she change Sasuke's mind when the time comes for him to leave, if she can at all? SasukexOC. Request from Madamodoctor.
1. Chapter 1

_Prompt: Itachi leaves one another being from the Uchiha clan alive - a young girl to help Sasuke restore the clan to their former glory.  
Prompt by the lovely_ **_madamodoctor_**

* * *

_Chapter 1: How it began_

"Sasuke Uchiha.."A pair of glazed over emerald eyes hidden from a mop of disheveled brown hair glanced upwards from the small clipboard they clutched between their fingers. Behind the village officer came a non stop sound of police barricade tape being stretched from it's roll, the young female officer tying it around from a light pole to the handle of a house they stood nearby. However the rather irritating sound of the tape being pulled out and out over again didn't budge the officers attention in the slightest.

Before their eyes they witnessed the Uchiha clan massacre. Dim lights poured through the windows of the houses, bringing forth the now lit up scenery of sputtered blood and lifeless bodies. The officer winced. To bypass the eerie background the officer tapped the clipboard against his left leg as he slowly paced forward to speak with the ANBU officer.

"So.. Do they know who did it?" The officer whispered subtly as his wandering eyes followed the light of the doorway they stood in front of. He saw blood spread out across the door and an arm laying limp - it's body out of view. He had to force his eyes closed for that one.

The ANBU officer looked over at the man. "No leads yet. The boy hasn't spoken since, however; the girl..."

Out of the corner of both their eyes, the saw a small figure approaching them. It was the young Sasuke Uchiha who slowly made his way over to the two grown men. His eyes were dull now, no longer full of the child like energy they once held. He had a thick grey blanket draped over his shoulders that her held close, while those cold eyes stared at the ground. The man felt sick to his stomach - this poor boy, the one who found his family murdered in their own home.

"There you are.." The man said quietly as he backed away from the ANBU officer and slowly strode over to the young Uchiha. "Sasuke, we know this is a really trying time for you right now... But anything you know about what has happened would help us find who did this so they can't do this to anyone else."

Sasuke stayed quiet throughout the mans speech. It was like his voice had stuck in his throat, feeling it closing in on itself. He knew if he tried to speak it would only end in embarrassment. So he clutched the blanket tighter around his shoulder and continued staring right down to the ground. He knew who it was - it was Itachi. His own brother. The young boy felt his chest grow heavier.

It was Itachi who Sasuke worried about the most as he ran through the streets of the Uchiha district, darkened and empty streets he feared the worst. He wanted his brother to be safe. And his brother was safe, after all, yet not in the way Sasuke had hoped for.

Sasuke raised his onyx eyes just a tad, only to view the man before him's eyes. They looked tired - probably because he had just gotten to emergency call only twenty minutes before, and it was now three fourteen. The man nodded and Sasuke and placed his hand upon his knee as he stood, then his eyes captured something down the street. Sasuke knew what it was, it was probably another pair of men hauling yet another dead body from within a darkened house. His eyes fluttered shut.

"There she is." He heard the man whisper to the ANBU officer as he took a small step beside Sasuke, the young boy witnessing the man tapping his clipboard against his thigh rhythmically. A pair of footsteps approached from behind Sasuke from around the corner and his brows furrowed. He was tired, and sad, and hungry, and all he wanted to do right now was be away from these prying adults. Couldn't they just grant him such a simple thing?

Sasuke slowly turned around to come face to face with another young Uchiha, he had seen her before, training with her father at the large grassy courtyard. She stared back at him with her pair of dark blue, almost black eyes that were so full of betrayal and hurt. But she stayed quiet. She too had a thick grey blanket pulled over her shoulders like a shawl, her thin little fingers poking through the slit and clutching the edge tightly. Her black hair was untidy and tangled, looking like she had been attacked, spilling over her shoulders like a waterfall.

Suddenly Sasuke felt a little bit of weight lift of his shoulders, not that it made much of a difference. He watched as she pursed her lips and her black brows furrow as she stared him right in the eyes. "Ren, like I had explained to Sasuke here, we know that this is a very painful time for you.. But we need leads on who could have done this." The man with a clipboard explained. "Do you know anything? Anything at all?"

Ren's eyes tore away from the clipboard man and stared at the boy in front of her, while the index finger that was clutching her blanket now pointed at Sasuke. "You know who did it." She whispered to him, recoiling her finger back into the warmth of the blanket.

He felt the weight on his chest return as the eyes of the officers were now attached to him. He stuttered for a moment before finding his voice that hid away. "I-it was..."

Ren's eyes made their way back to the officer. "It was his brother, Itachi..." She quietly told him as she drew closer to Sasuke. "I saw him with my own eyes. I hid in my closet but he knew I was there... He just left me there." She trailed off sadly.

The two officers along with the medi-nin all gasped, the woman clasping her hand over her mouth. "A-are you sure? Itachi was a hard working shinobi..." The man with the clipboard murmured almost to himself before Sasuke turned to look at him.

"She's telling the truth.. It was Itachi." He thought the words would never leave his lips and the mystery of the Uchiha clan massacre would be left unsolved for the years to come. But it was that helpful push from the other Uchiha that led him to spill all the details to the two officers, he now became the most talkative out of all of them.

It all died down soon enough after he had told them everything he knew, starting from when he was coming home late until he had reached the Konaha police - where he found himself mute until this point. He let out a breath of uneven air. Images whirled throughout his mind of his dead father and mother as Itachi stood over their bodies with a sword in hand. He shuddered.

The man nodded and glanced over at the ANBU officer. "Have your team search the perimeter."

The ANBU nodded and was gone is a whirlwind of dust and dried leaves, leaving Sasuke, Ren, the clipboard man, and the medical ninja to their own accord. Both Ren and Sasuke felt hands place themselves down upon their blanket clad shoulders, both looking over their shoulders to whoever it was. Their eyes met the woman's broken-hearted eyes that she tried to hide with a caring facade, but the two Uchiha's saw through it.

"I was instructed to take you two down to the clinic, you know, to wait until things get sorted out." She said as calmly as she could as she stood up from her kneeling position. Giving their shoulders a caring squeeze, she began to lead the two towards the clinic.

Ren glanced over to Sasuke without even a glimmer in her eyes, but still she reached over and clasped her hand around Sasuke's cold one. They exchanged glances before they set off to follow the medical ninja together.

They didn't any more words to each other as they walked in silence, the only thing heard were the three pairs of footsteps and the distant voices of officers and ANBU nin. They didn't even look at each other, but still their hands remained clasped tightly. Even as they stopped in front of the clinic doors, where the medical nin was holding them open for the two, they didn't speak nor glance at each other.

Slowly pacing into the clinic, the woman sitting lazily at the desk pointed over to the row of chairs in the corner of the waiting room, beckoning the two children to come and take a seat. Sasuke and Ren walked over to the seats and hopped onto them tiredly, Ren beginning to adjust her blanket at that point, their hands no longer together. Sasuke watched as she pulled the thick blanket tighter around her arms and chest, snuggling her face into the warmth, her eyes half lidded and dull. He glanced up and noticed the medical nin that escorted them over was now chatting with the secretary as if it were another patient less night like usual, his brows furrowed.

"Will we be put in an orphanage..?" He heard a quiet whisper to his right and he found himself staring back into those dark blue eyes she had and he couldn't help but feel her fright, which had left him a little while ago. His brows remained furrowed at that point.

"No." Sasuke gulped thickly, not really sure what was going to happen to them both. He stared at his hands for a moment, his mind a blur. What exactly was going to happen now? He cringed sourly. He knew Itachi would have to end, one way or another, but that seemed so far away. He was only eight, and he had only just learned his fireball jutsu.. He looked back up to Ren. "The village will take care of us."

Ren tucked her knees into her blanket and rested her chin upon her knee, her eyes fluttering shut. "Oh." Was the only reply she gave him which came in a soft whisper as she gently shook her bangs from her face.

"Did he attack you..? Itachi, I mean.." He murmured minutes later after he inspected her, the only real noticeable thing would be her slightly tangled tresses of ink black hair and the small smudge mark upon her cheek.

She looked back at him and shook her head from side to side. "After he killed my dad I hide in the storage closet, but it didn't close all the way. I knew he saw me..." Her brows furrowed, not completely understanding why Itachi had done this. "Then he killed my mum and he looked me in the eyes, and he left me in there." She picked up a tangled lock of hair that hung by her face. "I only look like this because it's really dusty and cramped in the closet."

Sasuke looked away slightly relieved. "Oh." Was all he put together before the secretary came by, giving the two small cups of water.

"Poor kids." The man that once held a clipboard whispered as he stared over at the two kids a few hours after they arrived at the clinic. The girl had fallen asleep against the boys side, still huddled within that thick shock blanket. The boy, however; was wide awake, staring off into the distance with those hard onyx eyes he had. The man looked over to his partner. "Do we tell them now that Itachi is no where to be found or...?"

The other man shook his head, his eyes glued to the children in the waiting room. "Nah. We'll bring them back to their homes before we do that." He reached into his pocket and fished out an almost crushed cigarette. "Come on, let's tell them the district is cleaned up and bring em' back."

The two men approached and Sasuke's head whipped to the side immediately. "It's alright." The officer said gently as they stood in front of the children, the other flipping his cigarette between his fingers aimlessly. "We can bring you back to you homes, if you'd like. If not we can arrange two apartments until you're comfortable with going back home.."

"We can go back home..." Sasuke replied with a tired, raspy voice, his eyes now fixed to the shining tiled floor. "You shouldn't wake her up."

The man nodded and took a step closer, carefully picking up her sleeping form into his arms and standing up cautiously. "We are ready to leave when you are." He stepped aside for Sasuke, who then began walking beside the man with the cigarette in his fingers.

The whole walk home Sasuke's now wide awake eyes darted everywhere throughout the deserted Uchiha district, and every so often he looked back to make sure the two men and Ren were alright. The officer looked to the other. "Do you know why he left her alive..?" He whispered, making sure Sasuke could not hear. "I don't fully understand."

The other shrugged with the cigarette dangling from his lips, a plume of smoke disappearing in the air. "Well put two and two together, Katsu. He obviously left his brother alive because he couldn't bare to kill him." He looked over to meet the man's eyes. "So obviously he had to leave a female counterpart for him. To keep the clan going I suppose." He shrugged again. "That's my guess."

Katsu nodded slowly. "That makes sense."

Both men were too busy in conversation to notice Ren's half lidded deep blue eyes that listened in on their words. Her brows knitted together at the thought. _Was_ she only kept alive for that particular reason? She fit the evidence together like a puzzle in her mind. Yes, it did make sense. Her eyes closed once again, now in deep thought, not realizing they had stopped.

"Ren?" The man that was holding her, Katsu, questioned as he cocked his head and stared down at her. "We're at your house."

Ren quickly whipped her head and her eyes met the scene of the house she once loved. Now it just pained her to glance upon it. _It's where mother and father were killed_.. She wriggled free from his arms, landing carefully on her feet and stood back up to her feet, facing her house. Tears welled up in her eyes and she painfully looked over to the two men and the young boy that stood in front of them.

"I can't live here by myself...!" The Uchiha stuttered as she fought back the relentless tears that urged to be released from the prison of her eyelids, her breath now becoming uneven. "I wont."

"Ehmm." The man with the cigarette sighed heavily as he scratched the back of his head. "I don't know what to d-"

"She can live in my house." Sasuke brought up the idea as he turned to face the men. "It's big enough and she wouldn't have to be alone."

"I don't know about that being aloud-" The children stayed quiet in this.

"It would help the village - we would have less ANBU guarding their houses, that means more available for other missions."

He scratched his head. "This wont go over well with the Hokage." The other scoffed.

"This whole situation isn't well with the Hokage, it isn't well with anyone! Nobody will care if two eight year olds are living together."

"Fine." The other let his now small cigarette fall to the earth, putting it out with his foot. "Are you okay with that, Ren?"

An almost invisible smile surfaced upon her face as she wiped away those stray tears, she nodded furiously. "Yes, I'm okay with that."

The four began walking towards Sasuke's house in silence, the two men no longer exchanging friendly chit chat. Ren smiled daintily and glanced over at Sasuke. "Thank you." Was she really kept alive just to be of aid to Sasuke? She looked back down to the dusty road. "I heard what they were saying earlier.. That your brother-"

"Itachi.."

"...Itachi only kept me alive to be with you." She shrugged it off like it was nothing. They were nearing his house, and she wished she didn't make it awkward.

Sasuke scoffed a little bit. "Who cares what they think. They don't know what we went through." He narrowly avoided her topic, but it was something he purposely wanted to avoid. The two stopped at Sasuke's house and noted the several ANBU officers stationed around the perimeter. "We're here..." He whispered before he took a hesitant step forward, his fists clenched.

He quickly looked over his shoulder to Ren and she followed along right behind him, grabbing onto the fabric of his blanket. She looked back and waved to the men before the two entered his house. Ren nervously took off her shoes and slowly made her way into the living room, where several cleaning agents still remained from when they cleaned the house of the dead bodies...

"I'll sleep here." She announced tiredly as she sat upon the loveseat, carefully patting it before she laid down onto her side, tucking her bare feet into the blanket. "Thanks again."

"There's an extra bedroom..." She already fell asleep by the time he tried to tell her that there was a bedroom she could have all to herself, but he truly couldn't wake her up. He wanted to sleep too. He wanted to crawl into bed and wake up in the morning to the smell of his mothers breakfast. His heart grew heavy but he managed to stuff those feelings back in. He slowly paced over to the small closet by the front door and pulled out a spare blanket from the wide selection of spare bed sheets and pillow cases.

Sasuke quickly draped it over her body and left the living room, not sure what to make of the day.

* * *

_AN: Well, did you guys like it? It was supposed to be a one-shot but the creative juices started flowing so I couldn't stop. It's gonna be snipits of their lives throughout the series (both of them) and the manga. :)_

_DISCLAIMER: I don't own NARUTO_


	2. Chapter 2

_Chapter 2: Unity_

In the followings weeks after the now famous Uchiha massacre the norm of the village had changed quite drastically. Legal documents continuously passed through the Hokage's office, concerning legal death wishes, members wills that had to be sorted through and living arrangements for the two lucky members of the clan that survived. A heavy burden of stress slowly piled on the backs of the village's officials, so many decisions with so little time, deadlines had to be met, money had to be transferred, houses had to be locked up properly.

Today was an odd day, since the other days following the massacre the village was alive with a dull, depressed buzz, frightened that the killer may return, scared for their children and grandchildren - it was different because today was the official funeral for every single Uchiha that was killed under the blade of Uchiha, even if their bodies had been laid to rest a little over a week ago. Not even a peep arose from the city streets that were now empty, every citizen either crowded in their homes in a depressed state or either stood silently at the cast iron bars that gated off the Uchiha's private cemetery. The cemetery itself gave off quite a eerie aura that disrupted the activities of passer by's, gulping down their saliva and looking down at their feet, wanting nothing more than to leave the vicinity as quick as they could, for they believed in spirits and there would be a hell of a lot of spirits roaming that yard. It had a few tall, willow like trees dotted around the large, now filled lot of the Uchiha cemetery, casting a large grey shadow over the worn out grass from the constant bringing of heavy coffins. The branches hung down to the soaked earth, heavy with rain that decided to fall overhead for the depressing occasion. Headstones were in high demand in the city, still being rushed through the sacred memorial house outside the gate of the cemetery, 'Uchiha' headstones still being mass produced within and being placed that day. Sasuke had requested his family and Ren's families headstones were placed first, so they would have something to look at during the funerals.

Two pairs of feet slowly walked through the moist gravel roads that lined the village, both very different from each other. One's stride's were much shorter than the others, shorter yet more fast paced. The others were long strides, indicating long legs, and more slowly paced. They stopped in front of a tall, blankly white apartment building that looked as if it were depressed because of this occasion. The one with the longer legs took a step forward and three rhythmic knocks sounded through their ears - it was the only thing heard in the village except for the heavy rain hitting the metal gutters ahead. With their perked hearing, the sound of footsteps came from behind the door and the creaky twist of a doorknob ran through their ears, following by a long, low creak of the door parting from the frame.

"Ren, are you ready to leave? We have a few minutes of spare time if you need to grab something." The man formerly known to Sasuke as the man with the clipboard, though Sasuke learned his name was Katsu, said in the nicest tone he could muster to the girl before him, tapping the tip of his umbrella down onto the concrete made step. Rain drops fell onto the concrete, creating dark grey dots all around. The two boys stared at her for a moment as she sullenly nodded, her brows furrowing before she quickly turned around to retrieve whatever she wanted to bring along. She rushed behind a corner and Katsu could see the emptiness of this house - _how depressing_. Though he made a comparison to the apartment Sasuke was given a few blocks away, his furnishings no better than her own, so he decided that it must have been something they weren't too concerned about. The noise of her bare feet hitting the sleek hardwood floors sounded in his ears as she rounded back around the corner with two bouquets of red and white roses in her right hand, her left hand beginning to help her feet into her black sandals, meeting along with her long black dress and thick black pullover.

"I'm ready." Ren gazed up at Katsu with her dark blue eyes before she whirled around and closed the door, pushing the old battered key into the golden lock, locking up her apartment and shoving the key into her pocket. Katsu pulled his umbrella up above his head as he took a step back to give her some breathing room, rain immediately pummeling down onto the waterproof canvas. He kept his free hand within the confinements of his pocket to keep from them freezing and realized Ren was lacking the device to protect herself from the pouring water above their heads, and he was about to ask her if she needed to go back in her house and get one but she stepped underneaths Sasuke's instead, both seeming fine with that silent decision.

Katsu nodded slowly and turned his foot to a ninety degree angle, hoping they would catch onto his drift. "Alright then." He gently jerked his head towards the direction of the Uchiha cemetery and the three began walking, unaware of the peeping pars of eyes that poked out from behind curtains.

Ren held the red colored plastic wrapped roses close to her chest, taking a long silent whiff of the thick smell that drifted off the dusty petals. She loved the smell of roses - perhaps it rubbed off on her since her mother had adored these flowers ever since Ren could remember. She had left her apartment yesterday to pay a visit to the Yamanaka's flower shop, where she had planned to get these two bouquets for around a week now, it was an itch she needed to scratch. She slowly walked up to the woman that had a tender looking face that grew sad when she approached, slightly leaning forward in a friendly manner. Ren had explained she wanted two bouquets of roses that would be appropriate for the funeral and the woman had ushered her into the slower room, where large canisters of water of flowers were held - she knew her mother would have loved to buy this whole store. _These dark red roses reveal an unconscious beauty. _Ren nodded and took one in her hand, wanting this one in her bouquet. _The white roses symbolize purity and heaven, secrecy and silence, innocence and charm. _She took one into her hand and moved on with the blonde woman. She looked quite hesitant to present this rose, so she kept it behind her back as she began to speak again. _The red and white roses together symbolize unity. _Ren almost smiled because they were in unity - her family, the whole clan were together, united in the after world. She liked the sound of this. _This singular black rose would represent death - I'm not quite sure if you would like this one in your bouquet._ Ren furiously nodded - 'I would like that.' Still walking underneath the umbrella Sasuke silently held above their heads, protecting these flowers from the harsh rain that she knew would destroy them. She took another long whiff and and the flowers out in front of her face, the now evident black rose in the middle of the bouquet standing out to her. _Death_.

The next thing she knew they had stopped walking and were now standing in front of the heavy cast iron gates that kept the community and the private land separate, they jingled as Katsu placed the black key into the black lock and let the heavy doors swing open. Ren gulped and clutched the noisy plastic closer to herself, looking over to her left to meet the eyes of Sasuke, eyes that didn't portray any emotion. His face was stoic, even to her, even after she told him he could be sad in front of her. He wasn't sad in front of her, even though she knew he was said - even though she constantly broke down in front of him. How could he stay so composed in a time like this? She wanted so badly to be strong like him. She licked her lips and gulped thickly, turning on her heels on her own accord and pacing inwards toward the cemetery. Burying her face into the bouquets, Ren's pace quickened when she laid her eyes upon the man that would conduct religious sayings for the clan.

"You must be Ren Uchiha. Correct?" The man asked with a warm smile, extending his plump hand out to her, she couldn't say no and gently shook his hand, hearing the other two following right behind her.

She clutched the roses once she recoiled her hand. "Yes I am."

The priest turned slightly to face Sasuke, extending his warmth to the boy with a smile and a handshake, to which Sasuke kept his hand clutched to the wooden umbrella handle and the other safe in his pocket. The man nodded knowingly. "And you must be Sasuke."

Sasuke merely replied with a simple grunt and the man took a step back, finding it a perfect time to start the ceremony. _Kou Uchiha_..._Gorou Uchiha_.. Names were continuously being read aloud from the man with a piece of paper clutched in his sausage like fingers, his face unchanging. The rain continued to pour. _Fugaku Uchiha, the leader of the Uchiha clan and Captain of the Konoha Military Police Force. _Ren cautiously gazed over to Sasuke and managed to catch him wince at the name of his father, and she didn't blame him. _Fugaku's wife, Mikoto Uchiha. _Ren looked down at the ground. The names kept going through their ears and out the others. _Takeo Uchiha_. The corners of her lips curled downwards as memories of her father flashed before her eyes. The blood seeping from his mouth as he fell limp against their dining room table, his pleading blue eyes darting around until they caught her own, and that's when she ran and hid, raking her fingers through her hair as she huddled in the closet. _Momoe Uchiha. _Curled up in her closet she could hear her mother beg for Ren life before her own, then scream as the blade came down onto her. Rens eyes widened in fear as Itachi turned his body to face the closet, the door not properly being able to close from when she scrambled to open it, everything from the top shelf tumbled down and blocked the doorway. He looked her dead in the eyes.

She found herself kneeling down, closer to the earth, the two bouquets laying limp on the trampled grass. The rain poured around her but she remained protected from Sasuke's umbrella._ I want to be strong like you, Sasuke_. Contradictory to what she thought in her head she brought her small hands to her face, almost covering it up as she silently wept. Her parents faces still imprinted in her young mind, her fathers glossy eyes, her mothers blood splatted face and neck, where her choked sobs no longer were heard. She brought away her soaked hands and grasped the flowers, standing up strongly beside Sasuke once again.

When the priest had finally closed his small black book that rested in the palm of his hand, surprisingly dry from the downpour, he excused himself from the cemetery and presumably took his place in the sacred memorial house outside the gates. Wrapping her fingers loosely around the red plastic of the bouquets, Ren paced over to one side of the cemetery, stopping when a pair of white marble with black etched words headstones stared her down. _Fugaku Uchiha_ and _Mikoto Uchiha_. Earlier she had wondered why Sasuke was flowerless this day. Of all days to be flowerless. But when she knelt in front of the head stones it made sense to her. There were already bouquets of a few black roses placed in front of the stone, she assumed Sasuke had visited earlier this week as she scanned over the health of the roses. From the corner of her eye she watched as Sasuke let his eyes flutter closed, his face remaining hard as rock. She slowly brought herself down to her knees with outstretched arms, gently placed a singular bouquet between the two matching stones, as a way of acknowledging their lives. She hoped these graves would always have fresh flowers to grace this sorrowful place.

When he let his eyes crack open after a few minutes of respectful silence, Sasuke found that Ren had stood up from his parents grave and taken her place at his right side silently, her eyes now closed to pay her respects. He scanned over the neatly done lettering that would forever mark these stones for ages to come, the carved roses with the Uchiha symbol in between them on his mothers, and the enlarged red and white fan on his fathers. His father was always a proud man, Sasuke noted to himself sourly, trying his best to stuff down all the memories of his parents as he could because he knew he was on the verge of his breaking point. He looked to his right and when Ren opened her eyes he moved his head to the side, signaling he wanted to move on to respect her family now.

The two walked through the mushy grass beneath their black sandals in silence, his fingers tightening their grip on the now steaming hot handle of the umbrella but he kept his mind level headed. All these headstones that passed - seventy five percent of them were from the massacre - the rest were from the past. All these mass produced headstones, graves that were buried by workers on overtime when they could have been home with their families, flowers left by complete strangers because their families were all murdered as well made Sasuke sick to his stomach. His own brother had slain these people, not just people, their clan members. Innocent clan members, children, wives, even pregnant wives, and Itachi's own friends. He hoped the spirits didn't hold Sasuke accountable for what had happened.

_Momoe Uchiha_ and _Takeo Uchiha_. They were stopped in front of Rens parents grave now, both sharing one headstone, like Ren had previously requested. With closed eyes, Sasuke wondered if Ren held a grudge because it was his own blood that had done with atrocity. She never showed signs that she was ever angry with him, but if Sasuke were her he knew he would have held one against himself. _Itachi has caused her this heartache_.. His ears perked up when he heard the sound of the wet grass rip and bend gently underneath new weight, then the sound of Rens crinkly red plastic being placed upon the wet ground. He cracked an eye open and watched her keel over with pain, though it was not real physical pain, but pain of losing her parents. He gripped the umbrella handle tighter as he grew more furious - just the sight of seeing her in pain made him want Itachi dead even more than he already did. It was one thing having killed almost everyone - but still causing pain to people was just unheard of! He scowled and looked away from the scene, but held the umbrella high.

After some time Sasuke expected Ren to be to her feet and ready to leave this horrid place, but still she remained kneeling over her parents grave with one hand placed on the freezing marble and one to her face. She wept silently, he could tell by the way her body convulsed and lurched forward every so often. He let the umbrella drop to the ground beside him and knelt beside her, hesitantly placing his hands on her shoulders, which were soaked through and freezing.

"Let's go, Ren." Sasuke murmured almost inaudibly as she turned her surprised face to face his, her face streaked with tears and rain droplets, her eyes wavered. By looking in her eyes he could tell she didn't want to part ways with the only way she could be with her parents, so he gave a hesitant reassuring squeeze to her shoulders. He wasn't too good with reassuring words and he prayed she knew that by now because all he wanted was to go home and get out of these cold wet clothes.

Wiping her tears on the sleeve of her pullover, she nodded to him, forcing her eyelids to shut in hopes of ridding the stray tears that never seemed to end. "Yeah." She looked at the roses and hoped her mother liked them before she stood up alongside him, keeping as close to his side as possible. Once his right hand recaptured the wooden handle, Ren took his free hand within hers like it was a normal everyday thing, without even a second thought. His hand was warm against her own cold clammy one and it made her feel embarrassed that she had been seen like that. "Sorry."

She led him out of the cemetery without leaving him a chance to ask why she had apologized to him. Katsu met up with them at the gate. "I hope that went well.." He scratched the back of his head with regret written all over his face - why did he say that?! "Do you two need me to walk you back or...?"

"We'll be fine. Thanks Katsu." Ren said with a rush of strength surging through her veins with Sasuke's hand still within her own, gently giving it a squeeze before bowing to the man and pacing out through the cast iron gate. The two remained silent for the remainder of the time down the main street, only a few lonely souls wandered around to nearby stores for the groceries they urgently needed, plastic bags filled their hands. Eyes continued to gaze out house windows and shop doors, grief stricken and shock riddled their bodies, they pitied the children that walked alone in the rain. A pair of two young girls gazed out from the flower shops window, where they had been playing with different colored flowers when their attention was drawn elsewhere. The two pairs of eyes, one set green and one set blue gazed out, their faces turned from love to sourness - they liked _him_ but not _her_.

Ren looked up into the sky when the reached the closest apartment to the cemetery, Sasuke's apartment. "May I come in? The rain is coming harder and my shoes are soaked through."

With a slight nod of his head, Sasuke approached the doorway to his little apartment, fishing the key from his shallow pants pocket and sticking it in the lock, quickly unlocking the door before either of them got any more wet. He stepped aside to let her in as he pulled the umbrella closed then tapped it against the side of the building ridding it of the extra moisture before leaving it by the door. He closed the door behind him with the warmth showering itself over his face and body, just like if he was back home with the original fireplace his mum loved.. _Stop it_. He cursed himself before kicking his shoes astray like Ren had did to her own and climbed up the small set of stairs to get to his den area, where he spotted Ren curled up on the couch with a thick blanket wrapped around her wet clothes. Above her on the couch was a large red and white fan - obviously belonging to his clan, it was taken from his parents house. He wrapped his hands around the railing, realizing that fan and the couch were the only things he had in his house.

"I can make tea." Her voice quaked slightly but her face was as hard as a rock. He fingers were clutched around the fluffy hem of the blanket just like the night he had first met her. Her dark blue eyes were glued to the light colored wooden flooring beneath the couch when she finally tore them away to stare at him for a moment. "I'll make tea." Her bare feet poked out from the blankets and placed themselves on the floor. She stood and let the blanket drape around her figure as she left the den for the kitchen, where he could already hear her beginning the preparations to make the tea.

He took a seat on the opposite couch silently and thought about the day.

She stared at the teapot expectantly, like it was going to pull a magic rabbit from its lid. Her fingers curled around the counter top as she leaned forward over the stove top, getting a closer look at the teapot. It was a regular red teapot. By the looks of it it was a recently store bought teapot, not something passed down by generations like her white and blue painted pot back at her apartment. Hers even had a Uchiha symbol on - the teapot screamed loudly with a high pitched tone, announcing to the world that the water within had come to a boil, just the way she needed it. Ren flipped the dial over to the off sign and placed the pot onto a different burner of equal size, now pacing over to the wooden over top cabinets for mugs that would be appropriate for tea. _These would be good_. Clink, clink. She placed the two mugs onto the counter and pulled out the small box of tea bags that were stored away in the lower section of the cabinet, fanning through the different flavors until she found one that would suite her current odd mood. She rocked back and forth and back and forth on the heels of her feet, peeling off the small cardboard bit off the tea bag and placing them into the mug, her eyes began to sting. She clasped the warm teapot with a shaky hand and slowly poured the boiling water into the mugs and she watched as the little bags raised to the tops, the water being dyed a light brown. Her eyes continued to sting and her face felt wet again.

Setting the pot back onto the burner, Ren grabbed both of the mug handles and swirled around to face the archway of the kitchen that connected to the den. The wetness from her face cascaded down her cheeks and down her neck. The girl slowly paced through the kitchen and into the den, where Sasuke sat quietly to himself. She noted how his face wasn't wet. Clink. She set his mug down before him on the small table, which wasn't really a table, and reclaimed her seat on the couch, cuddling back into the blankets. "I hope you like this flavor."

She didn't care to look over to see if he did indeed like this flavor because she felt ashamed he had seen her with tears on her face again. Ren wanted nothing more than to be strong like he was, even though she knew on the inside he hurt so badly. The warmth of the mug sent rays of sunshiney heat down her spine and she took a small sip of the tea. She noted how she didn't even like this flavor.

He took a long, slow sip of his tea before he decided she was extremely upset. She still cried. He watched as she still shook gently with sobs she forced back down into the pit of her stomach - saving the sobs for when she was alone in the night. The first night when she had slept over on his couch he could hear her cry silently, trying to hush herself and curse to herself to not wake him up. Sasuke looked down at his reflection at the brown tea in his hand. He vowed to never let anything or anyone make her this upset ever gain.

* * *

_AN: By next chapter I'm going to change the name of this story since 'Ohana' was just a joke, since I got it from Lilo and Stitch._

_Disclaimer: I don't own NARUTO._


End file.
